JCPenney store contributes to after-school tutoring program

Kevin Daigler, left, manager of the Hammond JCPenney department store, presents a check for $1,909.66 to representatives of Southeastern Louisiana University and the Tangipahoa Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (TADAC) in support of the After School Achievement Program (ASAP). The program provides area elementary school children with math tutoring by Southeastern students and educational programs about substance abuse. The funds were raised at the store over two weeks in April through the “After School Roundup” in which customers were asked to round up their purchases to the next dollar with the contribution going to the program. The Hammond store was the top participant in the entire region, which includes 20 stores in south Louisiana and parts of Mississippi. Accepting the check from Daigler are, from left, Alexandra Raphael, AmeriCorps/VISTA member working in the Southeastern Center for Faculty Excellence; Tena Golding, center director; Lynn Hoover, AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteer with TADAC; Beth Abel, TADAC director; Southeastern student Jennifer Wold, a kinesiology and health studies intern with TADAC; Rebecca Crittenden, TADAC program specialist, and her daughter LilyAnn, representing area school children.